Whys and why nots
by seriousish
Summary: The end of the world is no time for monogamy. AliceXClaire, AliceXRain.
1. Chapter 1

Alice usually hated people interrupting her while she read, saying in so many words that they knew better than her whether she should be having a conversation or enjoying a book. But she made a permanent exception for Claire. The redhead found her in the crow's nest, enjoying the silence high above the noise of the ship.

"Good read?" Claire asked, pulling herself up off the ladder.

"So I recall." Alice turned the page. "One perk of retrograde amnesia: you get to enjoy everything twice."

"Cuts both ways, doesn't it? Do yourself a favor and never watch Indiana Jones 4." Claire sat down on the grating floor or the nest. The metal combined with the sea wind to put a chill in her. She scooted against Alice for warmth. "You told me about the gas, but there are still things you don't remember?"

Alice grinned. "I'm thinking of writing a strongly-worded letter to Umbrella Human Resources." Claire kept looking at her and the smile disappeared like it'd been carried away on the wind. "The name of my high school. The end of Jurassic Park. My mother's face." Claire kept looking. Alice turned her head. "She's probably dead anyway."

Claire knew Alice, knew her type (cop, soldier, warrior) well enough not to push. She gave the conversation a moment's grace period, then changed the subject. "What's the read?"

Alice held it up, bookmark in place. "Satan was a lesbian."

"Ilene Chaiken's biography?"

Alice laughed and set it aside. "Lesbian pulp. I had one in the mansion. Picked one up on a forage the other day and it turns out they're like crack."

Claire slipped off Alice's shoulder and insinuated herself on Alice's lap. She could look up at that face all day.

Alice had a gravelly laugh, like it had rusted from disuse. "What's gotten into you?"

Claire reached up to give Alice's leg a squeeze. "My memory. I seem to recall you rolling into our camp, saving us from the un-fun Angry Birds."

It wasn't such a fond memory for Alice. She petted Claire's hair sadly. "I put you all in danger. I got a lot of you killed."

"You saved me." Claire reached up, the movement surprisingly supple for someone who'd spent her life in action with no wasted energy. Alice thought Claire was going to touch her lips, like some Harlequin novel bullshit, and was almost as surprised when Claire ran her fingers across a strand of Alice's hair. She wondered how it felt. "Look but don't touch… was it hard? Coming back to me, but then you couldn't be with me. It must've hurt so much…"

Alice grabbed Claire's wrist. "What are you talking about?"

"I remember, Alice. How we talked, how we looked at each other, the way I felt about you…"

All Alice could do was shake her head. "There was nothing between us, Claire. We never did anything."

Claire looked at her more expectantly than anything else, like she was waiting for a punchline, or an explanation. When none came, when Alice just shook her head once more, she moved with the speed that usually possessed her. Her lips crushed against Alice's so hard it was like she was punishing her. Alice's body boiled, her mouth tingled like a bruise. But she pulled away.

"There's someone else." 

* * *

><p>Rain remembered the antivirus working, her body waking up from its numbness. She was just thinking of what kind of beer she'd buy Alice to celebrate when they were ripped apart. There was a battery of tests done, first by white people, then by Japanese. At one point in her drugged-out convalescence, they must've transferred her. She finally recognized Dr. Isaacs shutting down the project to free up space for his own. Then she recognized a stasis chamber.<p>

Next thing she knew, Alice was setting her on Defrost and they were on a fucking boat. Alice didn't look older, but more weathered, like a diamond left out in a sandstorm to become pitted and scarred. "Good news or bad?"

"Bad news, I've got a feeling it's gonna take longer."

Alice shrugged like she was shifting a huge weight on her shoulders. "The virus got out. Pretty much everyone's dead, it's just a matter of whether they're walking around or not. Good news is I've killed everyone responsible."

Rain shook her head like she'd just heard a corny old joke; still funny. "Fuck, I always knew the world was getting FUBARed. At least the assholes who pulled the trigger caught some recoil. You got any beer?"

Six years of not being able to act on all the flirting counted as foreplay. The minute they were through with one damn bottle of Miller Lite, Alice stopped Rain from opening another to throw her against a wall. Rain reciprocated by throwing Alice on a bed. After that, it was like Alice was starving for her touch, any touch. Rain had an idea of going easy on Alice for their first date, but blondie kept pulling her in, rolling her into new positions and seeing if they fit. Six years of dreams were fulfilled in a few hours. 

* * *

><p>They didn't move in together. They didn't eat together. Some days they barely even spoke. But more often than not, the days ended with Alice in Rain's quarters, or pulling her into a deserted corner of the ship, or leading her back to her room. Sometimes they'd both stay. Most of the times, they wouldn't. It was rare that one of them wouldn't be left with enough energy to get up and go to her own bed, or attend to business. The Arcadia was rounding the coast, broadcasting for survivors down North America. There was talk of taking the Panama Canal, or cresting South America before settling in Antarctica, or continuing on to Asia or Africa or Europe. Mostly, they just needed something to do while they waited for the zombies to die out. As efficient as the T-virus made their bodies, they couldn't last forever without meat.<p>

It took a week, but they got to the point where Alice and Rain could lie in bed together and be comfortable. They were soldiers, so it always started off as a realization of how strategically untenable their situation was. The orgasm wore off, they rolled off each other, and then they remembered they were nude, unequipped, and if they fell asleep they'd be at the mercy of the other woman. Alice was still used to checking for zombies each time she opened her eyes. But they got used to the vibration of each other's body. For Rain, it actually got to be a little soothing. Alice was her reminder that she was out of the tube.

Two weeks went by before Rain felt up to shattering the peace with talk. She'd always had a thing for the strong, silent type. It was like fucking a mirror. "So what's with the girl?"

"What girl?" Alice teased. "I know a lot of girls…"

"Redfield. Claire. The ginger?" Rain teased right back, her words slick. She mollified herself by dropping onto Alice's back and nibbling her ear.

Alice snuggled deeper into her pillow, trying to escape. "We're just friends."

"Yeah, you look at her bod like she's an all-you-can-eat buffet. And she looks back."

"Jealous?"

"Nah. I stare too. It's, like, the way you look at her. It's pretty gay."

"Me? Gay?" Alice asked with industrial-grade sarcasm.

"You know what I mean." Rain moved her hand to Alice's belly and tickled. "Total high school closet case writing-her-name-in-your-trapper-keeper shit." Alice grabbed her hand, stilling it, but Rain didn't move away. She put her lips back near Alice's ear. "You look at her like you looked at Spence when you were trying to figure out where he fit into your life."

"Spence was a psycho."

"Is that a big consideration with Claire?"

"She's… emotional. Even after all this, she's still a civilian."

That antsy feeling was back. Rain got up and, naked, padded to the table where she'd set her clothes. She left them there, just pulling a cigarette and lighter from her boot. "You know, I'm cool with you using me for sex. But if you're using me to push her away, that really sucks."

Alice pulled the sheets over herself all of a sudden. "You've got nothing to do with it. Sooner or later, I'm gonna lose her or she's gonna lose me. Writing her name in my Trapper Keeper would just make it worse."

Rain lit up, then tossed the lighter and cigarette pack to Alice. "It's been a month, Alice. When are you gonna get used to being safe?"

"When I feel safe."


	2. Chapter 2

The ship has a gym, which doesn't get frequented as much as Rain would think. Now that people have some creature comforts, they forget about running for their lives. So when Rain went into the huge gym and heard one solitary pounding, the squeak of a chain as it was wrenched back and forth, she was drawn to it.

Claire circled the punching bag, driving taped fists into it with each twinge of her sculpted arms. The singlet she was in showed a lot of those, and the muscles of her back, and a little glimpse of her stomach's smooth-hard plain where her shirt rode up. The sweatpants weren't as enticing, stopping just short of her tennis shoes, and Rain didn't find calves that sexy, but still… if Claire and Alice weren't having so much L Word drama, she'd make a bid.

In the time it took her to ogle Claire, the woman noticed her. For a moment, she looked at Rain with open annoyance, then she managed to push that down and give her a simple, wan look. The bag swung in shorter arcs, the squeak of the chain's links getting softer.

"Rain, right?"

"Yeah."

Claire nodded. "I'm Claire."

"So I've heard."

"You want the bag?"

"No. Just seemed rude to be in here all alone with you and not say anything."

Claire reached out to steady the bag. The squeaking stopped. "Well, you've said something."

"Are you gonna give me bitchface for the entire apocalypse?"

Claire smirked a little, like it felt good to not be passive-aggressive anymore. "Look, K-Mart was supposed to come down here and spar with me, but I guess she got tired of having her ass kicked. You wanna go a few rounds?"

"You're asking me if I want to give… what are you, my cuckold?... a legitimate reason to hit me?"

Claire just raised an eyebrow. Rain bit back a laugh.

"Let's do it." 

* * *

><p>Claire sat holding her head. A look at her watch said that they'd fought for fifteen minutes, then she went back to tilting her head up so the blood from the cut on her forehead didn't get in her eyes.<p>

"Fucking sorry about that," Rain said again, coming back with a bucket of water and a washcloth. She quickly wiped down Claire's face before taking an Umbrella Corps medical kit off her hip. "It's gonna need stitches."

"Bring it."

Rain took a flask out of her pocket and passed it to Claire. "Have some. It's the good stuff, not that homemade shit they brew on the deck."

Claire took a slug. She winced. "Yeah, you drink this when you run out of diesel fuel?"

"No, dog blood." Rain came up with a needle and thread. "Hold still."

Claire did, grimacing just a little as Rain sewed her up. The glove had worked like it was supposed to; she'd just tripped over her feet and banged her head on the hardwood floor of the basketball court, which was right next to the boxing section. Umbrella Corporation was still finding ways to fuck with her life.

"You're not such a cunt," Rain said when she was finished.

Claire blew air out the side of her mouth. "I get what Alice sees in you. The effortless way with words."

"And I'm not a cunt. You're a badass, I'm a badass… we should get along." Rain took the flask back and drank hard, with a satisfied 'ah' afterwards.

A bit proprietary, Claire took it back and downed her own hard gulp.

"You're in love with my girlfriend," Claire said, trying and failing at not sounding bitter.

"There's no such thing as love. It's just fucked-up chemicals in our heads. I've been to college, I know this stuff."

"So you don't love her-?" Claire asked, now confused.

"I like her. She's pretty cool. But I'd slap her one if she suggested adopting two point five kids and moving to the suburbs. And she'd return the favor." Rain gestured abstractly and Claire handed the flask over. Rain finished it off with a gasping exhale. "I don't think she'd slap you."

Claire closed her eyes. "Please don't be saying your fuckbuddy has a thing for me."

"The way she tells it, everyone she's gotten close to has died. Her life's a Morrissey album. You're surprised she's a little gun-shy?"

Claire opened one eye a crack. "She wasn't back in the desert."

Rain frowned. A bit more blood was seeping out of Claire, so she doused the washcloth again and wiped at her. "Okay, this is where Alice being a crazy person comes in, but what's the harm in flirting when she's going to die at any minute? Now she's stuck with you."

"You know what? We need to strike a deal. Like, she can't have sex with you until she has sex with me. It's only fair."

"Are you drunk?"

Claire rolled her eyes.

"Fuck, sorority girls can't hold their liquor. C'mon," she said, dragging Claire up. "Let's get you to your cabin." 

* * *

><p>Claire didn't need any help walking. She occasionally touched her cut, each time finding it ginger, but she never got dizzy or tripped. Still, Rain shadowed her. When they got to her door, Rain opened it for her. They looked at each other for a moment, Claire not sure what to say. Her sarcasm had abandoned her.<p>

"God, I wish I could hate your guts."

Rain tried hard not to look smug. She stood in the doorway, a bit teasingly, waiting for Claire to pass her. "Tell me something. You spent six months with that scarab shit hooked up to you, then a few years running that caravan."

"Yeah?" Claire asked, stepping up to Rain, who didn't move aside.

"So when's the last time you got laid?" Claire chuckled and looked away. Rain laid a hand on her, grip biting into Claire's cheeks, to force their eyes together. "Maybe you wouldn't be so hung up on your boo if you got a little something."

"Like you're offering."

"Like, I am."

Rain was shorter than Claire. When Claire pulled her into a kiss, it was like Rain was being crushed by her body. Rain let Claire kiss her for a few hurried moments, as she kicked off her shoes, but frenching had never gotten her off. That's what she liked about Alice, they went straight to business, no girly shit.

She cupped Claire's ass, loving the sleek feel of it even through her sweatpants, and lifted. Claire was surprisingly light for such a tall woman, and she wrapped her legs around Rain to try and hold steady for more, of her lips, her moans. Rain bore her to the ground, making Claire groan in pain at being slammed against the floor, then she whipped off her shirt and forced her bra-covered breasts into Claire's face. The redhead obediently bit and sucked as Rain broke the clasp and flung her sports bra away.

There was a hint of submissiveness in how Claire kept bent to her task as Rain tugged her pants down to her thighs. Rain was rougher than usual, she wanted to make it clear this was just sex; two fingers instead of one, no teasing, just fast and hard and deep, Claire couldn't hide how much she liked it. She kept her head bent to Rain's chest, her teeth nipping at Rain's skin whenever Rain curled her fingers, and soon that was too much for her.

Her mouth propped open, her hot breath hit Rain in waves, carrying with it small words—"I'm not a fucking sorority girl…" Rain groaned and pulled back for a moment, looking at the wanton picture of Claire before adding another finger and surging down to taste her lips. Claire was gluttonous, taking everything Rain gave her—she kissed when Rain kissed her, she opened when Rain touched her, she'd probably eat her out for hours if Rain just parted her legs. Alice was an idiot not to be tapping that.

It took a moment for Rain to realize just how turned on she was-it crept up on her. She was usually calm and cool, even with Alice she was pretty above it all, but Claire was driving her wild. She was lost in those lips, living for those eyes to open and look at her like perfection. With a growl, Rain tore herself away, grabbing Claire's hand away from her own breast and pushing it down to her sex. Claire cupped her through the jeans and Rain practically came. The seam of her denim was searing her clit and she almost cursed when Claire ripped her zipper down, pushed her panties aside, replaced everything else with her hand.

"Is it okay?" Claire asked as Rain writhed on top of her, for the moment nothing more than a weight against her. All Claire could see was Rain's hair tousled across her collarbone. Then Rain exhaled, hard and heavy down Claire's belly.

She lifted her head. "It feels good." She watched Claire's face as she dragged her fingers out of her and rocked the heel of her hand hard against Claire's mound. "So fucking good…"

Claire's head drifted down and she closed her eyes, barely moving as Rain pushed against her, their bodies colliding roughly, hips bucking, arms tightening around each other. Rain came first, the paroxysm of her orgasm throwing her down limp against Claire, who rolled on top of the other woman and ground her sex against Rain's thigh, forcing an orgasm while Rain was still recovering from hers. With her eyes closed, all Rain could hear was a series of grunts, each one louder, than a quiet "Alice-!"

She opened her eyes to find Claire slumped down beside her, embarrassedly pulling her sweatpants up. "It's okay," Rain said. "You can call me whatever."

"It's not okay," Claire said, pulling herself to her feet. "If I'm fucking someone, I should at least be calling them by name. This is… God. Since when are zombies my _second_ biggest problem?"


	3. Chapter 3

Rain didn't know if it was to avoid Claire, but Alice spent a lot of her off-time in the radio room. She listened to the static like it was a symphony, sifting through frequencies for other survivors. Rain felt some of those stupid brain chemicals when she passed the door and saw Alice bent over a little dial and a microphone. The day after she had sex with Claire, she went to the radio room with a tray of food like she was back in high school, waiting tables. She knocked on the door with her foot. Alice answered, and her eyes weren't hard anymore. The way they settled on Rain, like she was still jumpy enough to search every shadow for a Licker, but couldn't be asked. "I heard a voice."

For once, Rain didn't have to fake enthusiasm. "That's great!"

Alice shook her head. "It's probably just my imagination. You want to listen for it to come back?"

Rain nodded. "I brought food."

Alice stepped aside, holding the door open. Her naturally harsh expression softened. "You're going to make someone very happy one day."

"Thought I already did." Rain set the food down on the table, serving Alice a double helping. She didn't know how much Alice was eating these days, but she doubted she was getting all her fruits and vitamins. Alice ate sparsely, her hands busy circling the same five frequencies every moment.

It took a half hour before Alice gave up. Rain saw her do it. She gave the dial a savage twist, flooding the room with static, then stuffed herself with the tastelessly cold stew. Rain turned the speakers off. In the new silence, the sound of Alice eating was disturbingly quiet.

Rain sat down on the table, giving Alice an unappreciated look at her ass. "We have an open relationship, right?"

Alice's smirk barely made a dent in her grimace. "Yeah, if we have a relationship, it's definitely open. Me satisfying you all by myself? No thanks. Who's the lucky guy?"

"Claire Redfield."

Now when Alice looked at her, her eyes were horribly alive, a kind of hurt in them. More than that, confusion. The only thing Rain could compare it to was infection. Someone realizing there was a thing inside them and they didn't know what it was doing. "She moves fast," Alice observed acidly.

"Not by your standard."

Alice's eyes flashed around, instinctively looking for attack from other angles before returning to Rain. It wasn't hard to tell when she felt threatened. "That must've been one hell of a fuck to make you take her side."

"I didn't know there were sides," Rain said evenly.

Alice hurled herself out of her chair, toward the door, and Rain shoved off the table to catch her. "Hey! I didn't mean for you to get hurt. Didn't know you cared on either count. But tell me—are you pissed that I slept with her or that she slept with me?"

After a moment to be sure Alice wouldn't answer, Rain let go of her. Alice brushed at her arm.

"I'm pissed that I thought I knew you and I don't." 

* * *

><p>The mood on the boat got tense. With nothing better to do, people gossiped about the love lives of their intrepid leaders, and they took sides. Claire's caravan wouldn't give Rain the time of day, while Rain's fellow experimentees treated Claire like she had the plague. Everyone was too afraid of Alice to treat her differently.<p>

"Can people just stop having sex with my sister?" was Chris's opinion of everything.

Then they caught a signal from Miami. Not just automated; when Alice answered, she got a human on the line. All it took was Armageddon to put a stop to automated operators. There were twenty people holed up in a high-rise, seven of them children. A gunship would be just big enough to make it in one trip, if they kept the fireteam light.

"And it'll have to be a fireteam," Alice briefed them. "I've been burned before. If it's Umbrella, we're shooting our way out. Claire, you're covering me, Rain, you're the only one who knows how to fly, so you're flying."

Chris raised his hand. "I think the team dynamic on this mission might leave something to be desired."

"Claire's the only one I trust to watch my back," Alice replied curtly. "I'll need you to watch the boat."

Chris grumbled and looked to Claire.

"It beats being in prison," she reasoned. 

* * *

><p>Alice spent just a few minutes with Rain in the cockpit after take-off. After the turbulence had come to a steady rumble, she went back to Claire, sitting in the seat furthest from the pilot. Then she sat down beside her. Claire stiffened at first, then slowly relaxed into the bulkhead opposite Alice, blocking her out. Alice stayed where she was, fingers bunched in her pants, letting the vibrations of the gunship wash over her.<p>

Finally, Claire looked at her. Head bowed, hair growing out over her face like a veil. When she looked back at Claire, her lips were pressed tightly together.

"You have something you wanna say?"

Alice straightened, cracked her neck. "Just… we lose people. All the time. We get shot at. We get hurt. We starve and get sick and it never stops. And you don't need me hurting you too. I'm sorry for that."

Claire just looked at her. Strong silent type with a heart of gold… how cliché could you get? Claire had come from a whole family of strong silent types. Her father hauled in bass each day, rain or shine, and came home every day still moist, but he never said a word about his work. Her mom had two kids that gave her more trouble than they should've, but she had a glare for anyone who said a word against them. Chris probably joined the military just so people would only talk to him when they had an order for him. And now Alice. Who could say a whole conversation's worth with five words.

Back in the caravan, they'd gravitated to each other. Alice had ridden with Claire as much as possible. Alice said something about Claire putting her down if she went rogue, but they didn't need to be joined at the hip to do that. There'd just always been a sort of alchemy between them. Even when they weren't saying anything, even when they couldn't see each other, Claire didn't feel alone when she was with Alice.

Looking at her now, the shy, almost fearful way Alice met her eyes, Claire let herself feel a little spark. 

* * *

><p>For once, everything went almost as planned. Everyone got onboard, even a dog that someone had adopted, and if the turbines attracted scaly, toothy things that climbed the walls of the building, Alice and Claire were able to shoot them down before they killed anyone. It was only when they were taking off that they saw how much ammo they'd expended, rolling around the rooftop and glinting in the sunlight like pearls.<p>

While all the civilians were hugging and crying, Alice and Claire just sat across from each other, sweaty, covered in gunpowder. Claire was breathing hard, while Alice was Zen. They stayed like that even as they landed on Arcadia. Claire had caught her breath and, exhausted, kept her head propped back as the passengers disembarked, Chris taking charge of them. Rain was the last one off, dropping a pack of cigarettes into Claire's lap. Then she was alone with Alice, the other woman standing over her.

"I think she meant for us to share," Claire said, tossing the pack to Alice.

Alice tucked it into her pocket. "After."

Claire got up, stretching a little. For once, Alice didn't look away. There was a little nervousness in her eyes when Claire caught her looking at where her shirt had ridden up. "After what?"

Alice picked up a teddy bear one of the kids had dropped. "The best day of my life was when I got you on that helicopter. It didn't make up for all the people who've died because of me—let me finish, Claire—but it was like… it was like maybe there was a reason, that I lived and other people didn't. You've lost people too and I know it's hurt you. Maybe that's why we get along. I just wanted you to feel what it was like to have the slate wiped clean for a little while. You deserve it."

Part of Claire wanted to think up something horrible to say, something that would make Alice cry like she'd cried. Nothing came to mind. She smiled a little. It had felt good, saving those people, doing it with Alice. "Is this you apologizing to me?"

"No," Alice said. She dropped the bear, stepped over it to get to Claire. "This is how I apologize."

Alice was a little taller than Claire. She had to tilt Claire's face up, just a tad, to kiss her, and that finger on Claire's chin, touching her so unbelievably gently for a woman who had slain monsters, brought down an empire—it was enough to make Claire shudder. She never shuddered.

The kiss left her shuddering again.

"Just one kiss?" she asked when Alice broke away.

"That was just so you know how my lips taste when I haven't just made you come." With a smirk that bordered on annoying, it was so obnoxious and sure of itself (that was how endearing it was to Claire), Alice got down on her knees.

There was a tear in Claire's pants, right at the hip. Alice pulled it open, not ripping it further yet, just looking inside to see the jut of her pelvis. Practically snickering, she added to the tear, bringing it sideways across Claire's mons, exposing the crotch of her panties.

"I'm going to have to walk across the ship like this," Claire observed.

"I'll give you my pants," Alice promised. "I'll streak for love."

Claire tried to hold still as Alice leaned in and kissed her groin, just her lips and a hint of tongue, barely enough to be felt through the fabric, but she was so turned on she could've been naked with the Olsen twins between her legs. Alice stopped, _nuzzled _Claire with her nose, then kissed again, pulling the waistband of her panties down just a little, like she was sneaking it over Claire.

Claire stepped backward, grabbing Alice by her shoulder holster and pulling her along, just far enough to drop into a chair. "You love me?" she asked, trying hard not to turn it into a question.

Alice got back down on her knees, spreading Claire's thighs with her hands. "I'm a little too horny for chick-flick moments. Rain check?"

Claire reached down to pull her panties aside. "Or you could always show me."

Alice didn't come up for air, didn't even look at Claire until she knew she was coming. All that existed for her was the taste of Claire, shockingly sweet, and it felt like hours before anything intruded on that. At some point, she realized Claire was moaning, the usually taciturn woman exquisitely vocal in her pleasure. Then there were the fingers running through her hair, at first gently, in time with the soft moans that seemed to undulate their way out of Claire's mouth, but then they were pushing her face deeper into Claire's pussy, as if that were possible. The moans hardened into panting; Claire's thighs closed tightly around Alice's head. The sheer painful intensity of it told Alice she was close, mindlessly close. That was the only way Claire would ever hurt her.

She stopped for a moment, leaving Claire teetering, all the strength and tension suddenly draining out of her. Claire's hands dully rested on Alice's head, her thighs quivered. And Alice kissed her clit the same way she had Claire's panties, this time with nothing in the way of her lips. Claire's hands tightened in Alice's hair, her thighs squeezed like she was trying to pop Alice's head off, then she went slack.

Alice stalked up her body to her lips, kissing Claire, giving her the taste of her orgasm. When Claire opened her eyes, it was to Alice's huge grin.

"Love you too," Claire said.


	4. Chapter 4

True to her word, Alice loaned Claire her pants for the long walk back to her room. Alice was wearing boyshorts, so it wasn't such a scandal—plenty of guys spent their days shirtless—but the brazen way she walked beside Claire, passing a cigarette back and forth… it was like she was claiming Claire. Or announcing she herself had been claimed.

When they got back to Claire's room (it was closer), Claire stubbed out the cigarette and pushed Alice down on the bed. Alice undid her corset, knowing how tricky it could be, and left the rest for Claire to remove. "Show me."

Claire sidled down onto the bed over Alice, burying her face in Alice's hair. It smelled of adrenaline, the scent Claire had come to associate with her lover. "Chick flick first."

"But I got you off—" Alice pouted. She didn't mean it, she just had a strange sense of humor, one that usually only Claire saw.

"You apologized," Claire corrected gently. "Means I don't have to reciprocate if I don't want to."

Alice's fingertips teased at Claire's shirt. "But you want to. You really, really want to," she smirked.

Claire suppressed a shudder. Alice had her number. She couldn't recall _wanting_someone as much as she did Alice, ever. Even in college, when she'd been a virtual jackrabbit, one a night was her limit. Three times over the course of a weekend was a birthday present. She'd just never had much of a sex drive when there was work to be done, and there was always work to be done.

Alice, she wanted to make a career out of fucking Alice. She wanted to try every stupid thing Cosmo had ever written. She wanted to watch porn with Alice. She wanted to fuck Alice until they had to sleep because the ship was out of coffee, and then the first one to wake up would tongue the other awake.

But there was work to do. Just a little tidge, but all the more reason to get it out of the way.

"Rain," Claire said.

Alice closed her eyes. "It's not the same with her as it is with you. It's not like this."

"But you do care about her."

"She's pretty great. You know how I feel about you, but she's… more of a BFF."

"Didn't figure you for the BFF type."

"What? I'm girly as shit." Alice slapped at Claire. "We were just… BFFs with benefits."

Claire caught Alice's slapping hand and held it tight. "Well, we can't just both dump her. Maybe if we explain the situation."

"I don't even know what the situation is." Resolved to the lack of sex, Alice vined herself around Claire, relishing the simple contact of their bodies. It made it easier to think. "I love you, Claire. I always have. But Rain and I shared a lot. I wasn't like this when I met her. I was, I don't know… innocent. It's hard to let that go."

"Do you still want her?" Claire asked, running a hand down Alice's spine to assure her she could take the answer.

"Not when I can have you."

"See, you say that and I feel awful. Like we've been using her."

"I know. But it's not like we can just keep hooking up with her."

Claire kept quiet. Alice had almost fallen asleep, breathing the barely-there scent of her hair, when she spoke again.

"Why not?"

"Why not what?"

Claire propped herself up on her arm, holding herself over Alice. "Are you the jealous type?"

"Why?"

"Have you ever watched _Y tu mamá también_?"

"No, college girl."

"What about Wild Things?"

Alice sat up, almost colliding with Claire, who backed up with a Cheshire cat smile. "You want a threesome?"

"It's on my bucket list and we're five minutes from being Zombie Chow every day. Let's get freaky."

Alice flopped back down. "I've turned you into a huge slut. Your brother is going to kill me."

* * *

><p>Claire felt better after a night's rest. More centered. She crowded into the shower with Alice and washed away the last of the other night's adrenaline. Despite how much she appreciated Alice's body, it was enough to just massage shampoo into her hair.<p>

"You're so gay for me," Alice laughed, slapping Claire's belly.

"You started it."

Rain spent so much time in the hydroponics bay, getting drunk and enjoying the quiet that they checked for her there first, Alice throwing on one of the dresses Claire had scavenged on a trip to shore.

"Such a girl," Claire said, mimicking Alice's tone.

"It's the easiest thing I have for taking off."

Claire rolled her eyes. There was a certain churn in her gut – Rain might go off on them for suggesting the whole thing, so she had already decided to make the offer instead of Alice, not wanting to ruin their friendship. In any case, she doubted Rain would rip her clothes off and ask to be ravaged against the nearest wall.

The hydroponics bay was a modestly-sized room dominated by rows and rows of plant incubation trays. All the green and dirt didn't fit in with the ship's sterile white décor, so Umbrella had actually done them a solid and painted a faux-jungle mural on the walls. With all the time Rain had spent in labs, it was no wonder she went there to relax.

They found her in the tomato patch, spraying the seedlings with a kelp solution. The sight of the hardened warrior blasting away with a spray bottle ensured Alice announced them with a snickering laugh and Claire punching her shoulder.

"Guys," Rain drawled in welcome, putting up the bottle and wiping her hands off. Denim shorts and a dirty tanktop were a good look for her. "Didn't expect to see you two in the same room so soon. What's the emergency? Let me guess—zombies?"

"Claire wants to tell you." Alice drew back, then looked over at the silent Claire. "Claire?"

Rain picked up a bottle from the dirt, dusting it off and taking a swig while Claire stammered. Finally, she lowered it, tapping the bottom against her leg as she waited.

Claire had pictured Rain being a bit more impressed by her newfound closeness with Alice. A bit easier to seduce, a bit of help from Alice… she slapped Alice's ass. Rain didn't look very impressed.

"Have you ever watched _Y tu mamá también_?"

Rain chortled. She swaggered closer, the bottle swinging at her side, beer sloshing about inside it. "The nuns always thought I'd end up in a situation like this. Or with a gay dude. Never sure how that was supposed to work."

"The nuns aren't around anymore," Alice said. "No one's going to say anything. So… why not?"

"Why not? That's your big reasoning?"

Alice smirked. When she did, she and Rain seemed to have the same smile, stretched across two faces. It actually disconcerted Claire a little. "That, and I'm horny as hell from this one leaving me high and dry."

Rain glanced over at Claire with a mock-disapproving scowl. "Guess we should go first, then."

Alice hitched the fingers of one hand in Rain's belt buckle, drawing her close with light force. Rain let herself be pulled into Alice's orbit, head lolling back to expose her throat. She brought the bottle up to Alice's mouth and fed her a shot, booze spilling off her chin and down her throat. Rain licked it up.

"I think we should establish some ground rules," Claire said. "In Opening Up, a book on open relationships, Serena Anderlini-D'Onofrio writes that compersion is the ability to turn jealousy's negative feelings into acceptance of, and vicarious enjoyment for, a lover's joy."

"Good for her," Alice mumbled as Rain's tongue vigorously lashed at her jugular. She'd been trained so hard to defend it that having such heat and pressure on it pumped adrenaline through her body. The conflict in her body wanting to run and fight, while her mind wanted to just stay and enjoy the sensation, was intoxicating. "Let's just fuck."

Then Rain backed away, her fingers bunched in Alice's sundress, smearing dirt into the fabric. Alice couldn't have been happier. Just the sight of the stains seemed unfathomably decadent just then.

Claire followed behind as Rain led them to a patch of loam, empty soil. Rain ran her hand through it, demonstrating how rich and soft it was, before dropping it into Alice's hair. Alice giggled and pushed her down on top of it.

"Wait, wait…" Claire said helplessly, and both women paused to look at her.

"Is something wrong?" Alice asked, voice full of caring.

"I just…" Claire took her shirt off, kissed Alice, fell down on the loam pulling her pants down, kissed Rain. The commando quirked an eyebrow as she worked the bottle halfway into the soil so it wouldn't fall over.

In her bra and panties, Claire scooted out of the way, lying her head down on her arm. "I always get left behind. Not this time."

Alice laid down between Rain and Claire, touching Claire's face gingerly. "I'm never leaving you again."

She kissed Claire, her lips wandering over the other woman's face and throat. And Rain buried her face between Alice's shoulder blades, making her way downward, feeling Alice through the dress and enjoying the artistic swirls of dirt that her hands left. When she reached the hem, she pushed the dress up Alice's body and kissed her way back.

Kissing Alice's hip, she smelled the arousal welling in Alice's sex. She ran a short fingernail from Alice's clit to her asshole, watching a tremble shake Alice harder and harder. Then she bit down on the goose-pimpled skin of Alice's ass, slowly, but tighter, tighter, until her teeth were bruising the creamy flesh. It just made Alice moan louder into Claire's hair as the redhead sucked at her ear.

Rain let go, giving Alice a half-minute of peace before blowing on the indentation she'd left, licking at it, electrifying the engorged nerves she'd left. With the arm behind Claire's back, Alice beat the soil, the sound like a racing heartbeat as the three lost themselves in each other.

Alice's body was burning. Rain was torturing her, and the soft way Claire stroked her sides, barely even touching her breasts, was its own kind of torment. With one last, deep kiss, she rolled away from Claire and finished pulling her dress over her body, tossing it aside. Even Rain took a moment to devour the sight of her naked before attacking. Alice laughed and hugged her as the other woman savaged her breasts, while Claire embraced Alice from behind, cupping her sex in gentle contrast to Rain's teeth.

"I'm gonna make you come first," she whispered in Alice's ear, her fingers plinking at Alice like she was playing piano.

Rain's fingers scratched down Alice's chest, moving to enter her and finding Claire in the way. Growling in Spanish, she shoved Claire back. "Make yourself useful," she ordered, tossing Claire a baggie from her backpocket.

Claire's eyes widened when she saw the weed inside. No wonder Rain had spent so much time with her plants.

"You have any rolling paper?"

Rain was mounting Alice, ripping her own shirt off. Her breasts were compact, but her nipples were fiercely hard. "Don't you have a copy of 'Opening Up, a text on open relationships by Selina Vincent-D'Onofrio'?" she asked in an exaggeratedly white voice.

Claire was almost too aroused to answer. Her pants were hanging off the end of the table. She snagged them with her feet, pouched her wallet out of a pocket, and took out a hundred dollar bill. Like Alice said. Why not?

"We're sharing this," she said.

"Yeah, yeah," Rain replied, ripping her zipper down. Then she paused, running a finger over the inseam of her denim. With a devious look in her eyes, she got down from the table and pulled Alice to the edge, dragging her through the dirt with her hair sprawled out above her.

"You beast," Alice complimented.

Rain stepped between Alice's spread legs, pressing her jeans against Alice's cunt. Alice could only shiver at the rough feel of the denim, the tiny bite of the zipper teeth, the occasional soft flutter of the panties underneath. And with a smug grin, Rain thrust against her, swinging her hips, her chest undulating wildly, all tense abs and jiggling breasts. Just the sight was enough to get Alice off.

When Claire tried to seal the joint with her tongue, she found her mouth quite dry. The sight of sweat caressing Rain's body gave her an idea. She ran a finger over the hollow of Alice's throat and that was more than enough to gum the joint closed. She lit up and sat back, her hand slithering into her panties. The way Alice and Rain were grunting away at each other, their bodies marked with dirt and sweat, their hair disheveled and their faces feral, it was like they'd put all civilization on hold.

Why not?

Claire laid back, the joint gritted in her teeth, and picked up Rain's bottle. She took a swig, spilling a few drops on her chest, the cool liquid perfect against her overheated flesh. She felt sucked into the sex, drugged with it, energized by it even though she wasn't participating. When she drank, the liquor swirled down to her belly, heating her like Rain must've been doing to Alice as she pressed their cunts together through layers of frustrating, arousing cloth. Her shorts had already fallen down around her thighs, leaving the cool satin of her panties to meet Alice's heated skin. Alice reached up and managed to clasp Rain's ass, ripping the panties down and pulling her in harder, deeper, both women moaning as they impacted.

Claire took a drag on the joint and imagined the strong wind blowing through her thoughts was like the orgasm coming to strike Alice and Rain down. It was so beautiful. She exhaled and the smoke seemed to wrap around them, lovingly curling around their bodies, connecting them.

Rain roughly mauled Alice's breast before reaching out to Claire. "Share and share alike."

Claire dropped the blunt into her hand, unaccountably giggling when the hot ashes sizzled in Rain's palm. It just seemed to make her go harder and rougher against Alice, her body moving so fast she had to bite down on the joint to keep it in her mouth. Then she took a deep, deep drag, filling her lungs with the smoke, the tip flaring a vivid red.

Claire swigged the beer and felt it set her belly on fire.

The joint slipped out of Rain's lips, tonguing the smooth and untouched expanse of Alice's belly, ashes and smoke setting off the perfect golden tan. Her eyes hooded, Rain lowered herself to Alice, their breasts pressing together, their eyes meeting, finally their lips sliding together. She exhaled sultrily into Alice's mouth, closing her slack jaw when she was done.

"Don't let it out until you come," Rain husked, wriggling her hips, her sex caressing Alice's in a never-ending spiral, pushing Alice irresistibly toward orgasm.

Claire couldn't take it anymore. She leaned over Alice to kiss Rain, and there was the same taboo excitement as the last time, with none of the guilt. It was rash and rough and illicit, but she could feel it arousing Alice. She poured the beer over all three of them, slicking their skin and turning the soil to mud, the taste and smell overwhelming them.

Claire slipped and slumped over Alice, who couldn't take anymore. Her hands flailed, grabbing at the soaked soil, Claire's back, Rain's front, her own shaggy hair as her orgasm clenched her tight and small as a kernel of popcorn before it'd been popped. It forced the smoke out of her lungs and she relaxed, spooling out and out and out until it felt as if she'd become part of the soil, put down roots and grown across the garden like vines. She lazed back, arms spread, Rain toppling down next to her.

"I think I just came colors."

* * *

><p>Unexpectedly, the excitement, the little thrill of going out after curfew, never left Claire. It flattened, cooled somewhat, like hot coffee just after it was safe to drink. Without the fear of rejection, it just went in circles through Claire's head, a perpetual motion machine. Alice and Rain, Rain and Alice, and her.<p>

Rain got up first, disgruntledly swiping the joint away from Alice and dusting herself off. "Can't believe you poured out my beer."

"It was erotic," Claire said defensively.

"Be erotic with water. We've got plenty of water. We're in a fucking boat."

Alice got up too, helping Claire to her feet. "You two already sound like an old married couple."

"Fuck no. You two be the married couple. I'm the other woman. The mistress." Rain gave the joint a femme fatale puff. "And I'm bogarting this. You don't like it, stop pouring out my beer."

The three of them got dressed, their clothes barely concealing their dirt-tousled bodies, really adding another layer of debauchery to it. Alice's dress made her look like she'd rolled down a hill. Claire looked like she'd been mud-wrestling.

"Beer's probably not good for the plants, either," Rain griped.

"I'm sorry about the damn beer!"

Walking back to their rooms to wash up (Alice wasn't eager to try squeezing three women into an Umbrella-issue shower, much less do anything fun), the question of whether to come out or not became a non-entity. As everyone who saw them could figure, there were only two ways to get that dirty in hydroponics. And no one was bruised enough to have been fighting Rain.

Of course, the way Alice fought a valiant, losing battle to keep a straight face when they crossed paths with Chris gave it away too.

"So we've been looking for you," he said, evenly as ever, looking them over. Rain nonchalantly brushed a clod out of her hair. "Guess it's good we didn't succeed. Something's come up on radar the other night. Get to the bridge when you're decent."

Alice nodded vigorously. Rain tossed off a salute. Claire gave them both a shove down the hallway.

"And Claire?" Chris said to her back, prompting her to stop with one last push at her lovers.

She looked back. "Yeah?"

"Could you leave one beautiful woman for me? It's the Apocalypse. There aren't that many fish in the sea."


End file.
